On Wednesday night the Board of Education voted on its officers.
While it wasn’t long ago the board was stymied in its effort to select a chair, this vote was unanimous in its choice of Peter Bernstein.
“I am thankful for the unanimous vote of support last night for another term as Chair of the Board of Education,” Bernstein said in an email on Thursday morning. “I look forwarding to continuing to work alongside Vice Chair Jennifer Dayton, Secretary Barbara O’Neill and all the members of our Board as we serve our students and the entire community of Greenwich.”
Bernstein added that the Board members are well aligned for a focus on student growth and the implementation of a strategic plan.
“Thanks to the efforts of Interim Superintendent Mayo and the administration and our dedicated teachers and staff in the schools, who are driving results each and every day, we can be proud of the success of our students and the Greenwich Public Schools overall,” Bernstein added.
The vote was 7-0. Peter Sherr, who was appointed chair by the Board of Selectmen in 2016, was absent.
Back in December of 2016, the BOE tried and failed several times to elect a chair. To successfully do so requires 5 votes out of the 8 board members. Tie votes, or votes of 4 to 3 with one abstention, did not satisfy the requirement.
One 2016 vote was 4-3-1, with Peter Sherr abstaining. A subsequent ballot again resulted in a vote of 4-3-1, with Peter Sherr again abstaining.
First Selectmen Peter Tesei said if the Board of Education failed to elect a chair with five votes out of eight, by law it comes to the Selectmen to pick one, though he said there was no record of it having happened before.
John Toner nominated Peter Sherr as chair, which Tesei seconded and despite advocating for Ms. Erickson, then selectman, Democrat Drew Marzullo voted for Mr. Sherr for a vote of 3-0.
See also:
Board of Selectmen Install Peter Sherr as Board of Ed Chair; Laura Erickson is Out Dec 2016